Flea control for kittens under 8 weeks...

[DesnBaby]

From my cat group...

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From: NMHPForum <nmhpforum@bestfriends.org>
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 12:16:30 -0700

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Question from Carole:
Kittens may come in flea infested. What is the best way to deal with
this problem for kittens that may be weak and are too young for
topical applications such as Advantage and Frontline? Do you risk
killing the kitten by bathing him/her even if you warm the kitten
quickly after the bath?

Can you also tell us how to check for flea-induced anemia?

Response from Dr Wendy Brooks:
There is no product that is labelled for use in kittens under 8 weeks
that I know of. Unfortunately, as a condition of keeping my veterinary
license current, it is also not legal for me to tell you to do something
that is off-label with regards to an insecticide.

I can tell you what we often do when a kitten is very small and loaded
with fleas: we use half a Capstar tablet. If you see a lot of flea
infested kittens, I recommend that you lay in a supply of small sized
Capstar for this use. A full tablet is labelled for use in kittens 2
lbs and over. I see no reason to deal with the stress of a bath. If you
are not familiar with Capstar see:
http://www.ah.novartis.com/products/en/ ... star.shtml

As for checking for anemia, it is is tricky when you don't have actual
ability to run a blood test (which tells you for sure if a transfusion
is on the table). Check the kitten's gum color. If it is white or pale
then you probably have flea anemia. If the kitten is also weak and cold,
it probably needs a blood transfusion. If the kitten is pretty strong,
you can try the Capstar and an iron supplement if you really feel like
taking some risks due to lack of money. If you don't want to take any
risks and the kitten is pale, see the vet for a quick hematocrit test to
see if he is anemic and if so, how badly.

Most vitamin supplements do not contain iron so if fleas are a problem
in your area, get some kind of vitamins that do have iron. Pet Tinnic is
a good brand (your vet probably has something).

Hope this helps!

[MurraysMomma]

I just thought that I would pipe up and pose the following suggestions for all natural flea control. I do not use any chemicals or commercial flea products yet none of my animals have ever had a flea problem. I am not a vet and therefore have no knowledge if any of this stuff can do any harm to your cat but as yet it has not hurt any of my own critters. I would suggest contacting your nearest holistic vet prior to using anything just to be sure. The following are paraphrased from my holistic recipie book for pet care. I have tried some but not all of the following.
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*Flea powder..*
Powder 1/2 cup of the following herb combination and dust your pet with the mixture. Use wormwood, fennel, rue and peppermint.
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*Flea-ade..lol*
Slice up a lemon, score the skin to release more of the citrus oil. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the lemon and allow lemon to sit overnight. Use a clean sponge or washcloth and sponge or wipe the lemon water onto your pet. This will instantly kill fleas and will repel them afterwards. Suggest to give your pet a bath afterwards or they'll smell like lemonade all day...lol.

Alternative to this:
Score the peel of an orange and rub the peel on your pets skin...OR you can blend the peels of 3 to 4 oranges/lemons and then rub the solution onto your pet. Best to give them a bath about 30 minutes afterwards.
-----------------
*Bathtime*
Set one quart of water to boil...add 1 cup of dried rosemary. Cover the pan and allow the rosemary to steep until cool. Then use the mixture to wash your pet..making sure to really work it into the fur..make sure to rinse well.
------------------
*Vitamin B*
Ask your vet to recommend a Vitamin B supplement for your pet as fleas will not stay on an animal taking Vitamin B supplements.
------------------
*Flea Free Foods*
Add a small amount of brewer's yeast, apple cider vinegar or crushed garlic to your pet's food. For whatever reason these ingredients make your pet unappealing to fleas. Apple cider vinegar also regulates PH. (I take apple cider vinegar every day myself and such has kept me from getting ill for nearly 5 yrs now).
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*Flea Free Bed*
A few drops of Lavender Oil in their pet bed will keep fleas out. You can also powder the following herbs and place it into their pet bed...use 1/2 cup pennyroyal, 2 Tablespoons of dried thyme, 2 Tablespoons of dried wormweed and 2 Tablespoons of dried rosemary. Put inside the bed..open a seam if need be and resew closed afterwards..make sure herb mix is even over the whole bed.

Also...just for cats:
Mix 2 ounces of pennyroyal, 1 ounce of catnip and 1 ounce of chamomile together and place into your cat's pillow. If your cat doesn't like catnip I'm sure the catnip could be substituted for whatever your pet is attracted to.
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*Sage rub down*
Fleas do not like sage so you can crush sage into a fine powder and rub it on your pets skin. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes and then brush it off.
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*Tea...anyone?*
A cup or two of cool peppermint tea can be added to your pets bath water to eliminate fleas. Hey some folks do give cats baths...lol. Can also make a pot of pennyroyal tea and do the same thing.
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*The trio*
Three herbs that can be fed to pets to repel fleas are Fennel, Rue and Rosemary.
**************
*Flea Free Carpet*
This doesn't affect adult fleas nor eggs but Non-ionized table salt sprinkled onto your carpets will kill flea larva. This will also destroy tapeworm eggs. Leave the salt on the carpet for a half hour to an hour and then vaccum up. Vaccuming often will also keep adult fleas to a minimum. Be sure to dispose of the vaccum bag right away.
**************

This doesn't really apply to fleas but rather to worming...
Powdered Pumpkin seeds and a little bit of garlic will keep your pets worm free. Just put it over their food daily.

These came from The buggy professor's 'Club the bugs and scare the critters' all natural remedies book written by Dr. Myles H. Bader.

[emma_pen]

Frontline spray (NOT spot on!) can be used in kittens from 2 weeks old in this country.